The Gaza peace summit hosted by Egypt ends without a joint final declaration
The peace summit on Gaza and the “Palestinian Question” organized by Egypt in Cairo ended today without a joint final declaration from the 34 countries and international organizations involved in the meeting. Egypt, the country that convened the meeting, issued a note acknowledging the efforts to reach consensus across political or religious positions to address this crisis and the situation in Israel and Palestine, and for its common Position when recognizing “the importance of reassessing the international strategy to address the conflict.”
Sources from the Spanish delegation, despite the lack of a final declaration, positively assessed the meeting as a “very important” step in mobilizing the international community to revive the struggle for the coexistence of two states, Israel and Palestine. Defended by Spain and the European Union for years.
From the first moment, it was noted that there was a consensus among the participants of the meeting in support of the idea of reactivating the “two-state” solution and coexistence for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Everyone who expressed their opinion at the beginning of the meeting categorically expressed the same ideas: the coexistence of two states is the only viable solution to the conflict, the lives of civilians must be protected everywhere, and humanitarian aid must be able to reach the Gaza Strip.
However, it also highlighted the gap in sensitivity between the Arab world and the West when it came to assessing the situation of the Palestinians and responsibility for their situation. In fact, Arab sources have told EFE that despite the agreement on many issues, the final declaration was not presented because the Europeans refused to blame Israel for the deaths of civilians and call for a ceasefire.
In their final statement, Egypt and its President Abdel Fattah al Sisi said the initiative aimed to “build a global consensus” to reject “violence and terrorism” and called for an end to the ongoing war that has caused the deaths of “thousands.” “Humans” have caused harm to innocent civilians in both Palestine and Israel.” In addition, the rules of international and humanitarian law must be respected “which underline the vital importance of protecting the civilian population and not exposing them to dangers or threats.”